Wolff warns that 'being heroes' can slip away in moments as rivals close in

The Germans are the team to beat so far in the current Formula 1 campaign. George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix, and Kimi Antonelli crossed the finish line in first place in Shanghai and Suzuka.

The last time Mercedes began a regulation change in such a dominant fashion was in 2014, after which the team won every constructors' title until 2021.

Still, Wolff is not getting carried away. He said in Japan: "First of all, we need to keep our feet on the ground, we are three races in, we are looking like the heroes, but three races from now on people could be saying, well ‘they are not heroes anymore’ because the others got the trophy.

During the ground-effect era, Mercedes was not fighting for championships. Wolff highlighted that they never doubted they could return to that position.

He explained: "But definitely, we never stopped believing that we would eventually land a car and build the structures that can do that with the right drivers and to see that finally coming together is nice. "

After the Japanese Grand Prix, the Mercedes CEO and team boss also addressed Frederic Vasseur's claim that a new championship could begin at the Miami Grand Prix.

Wolff said: "I agree. It could be the case. People have learned now, teams and drivers are starting to learn how to optimize the systems to their benefit. And we've seen that first indication."

Speaking after his victory in Japan, Antonelli also highlighted the threat of rival teams. "Plus, I think Ferrari and McLaren, they will get closer, so it’s going to be important to stay on top of the game, as I said before, keep raising the bar.

"But I’m not focusing on or worrying about [the title battle] at the moment. Just obviously happy with how things went, and yeah, just going to try to make the best out of the break and trying to see how I can improve those areas in order to be back stronger," he concluded.